1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector with a metal housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a first conventional multi-jack electrical connector includes a plastic base 10 and a metal housing 20. A plurality of terminals is disposed in the plastic base 10. A front end of the plastic base 10 is formed with three connection holes 11. The metal housing 20 covers the plastic base 10 and is integrally formed with a top surface 21, a front surface 22, a rear surface 23 and two side surfaces 24. Two sides of each of the top surface 21 and the rear surface 23 are formed with folded edges 25 and 26. The front surface 22 is formed with three openings 27 for exposing the connection holes 11 of the plastic base 10. The metal housing 20 is made by cropping a metal plate into a corresponding shape and then folding the metal plate into the metal housing with an open end.
The first prior art connector has the following drawbacks.
1. The metal housing 20 is formed by folding a plate to form a chamber, as shown in FIG. 2, so the developed shape has to be cut with a lot of wasted material.
2. The metal housing 20 is formed by folding a plate and the top surface 21 only rests against but is not integrally connected to the two side surfaces 24, so seams still exist. In order to enhance the sealing effect, the folded edges 25 are formed to cover the seams. Similarly, the seams are also formed between the rear surface 23 and the two side surfaces 24, and the folded edges 26 are also formed to cover the seams. The overlapped portions on the housing deteriorate the overall glorification.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a second conventional multi-jack electrical connector includes a plastic base 30 and a metal housing 40 and is almost the same as the first conventional connector. In order to reduce the waste of the material, the metal housing 40 is composed of a front housing 41 and a rear housing 47. The front housing 41 has a U-shape and includes a front surface 42 and two side surfaces 43. An upper portion of the front surface 42 is formed with a folded edge 44. A rear portion of each side surface 43 is formed with projecting engaging blocks 45. The rear housing 47 having an L-shape includes a top surface 48 and a rear surface 49. Two sides of the top surface 48 and the rear surface 49 are respectively formed with folded edges 410 and 411. The folded edge 411 is formed with engagement holes 412. When the front housing 41 and the rear housing 47 are assembled together, the engaging blocks 45 engage with the engagement holes 412, the folded edge 44 engages with the top surface 48 of the rear housing 47, and the folded edges 410 and 411 engage with the two side surfaces 43 of the front housing 41 and are located outside the two side surfaces 43.
Although the second conventional connector can reduce the waste of the material, it still has the drawback because the overlapped portions between the folded edges 44, 410 and 411 and the plate and the two rows of engagement holes 412 still exist on the exterior, and the glorification of the exterior is thus deteriorated.